Re: [ElectricMotorcycles] Short range high speed MC/scooter?

[Mark Thomasson]

You won't need very many batteries to accomplish this ride.  You will need power to do the 55 mph leg, so AGM's would be desirable.  My commute is 13 miles round trip, half at 25 and half at 45 MPH, easily  done with 160 pounds of AGM's (Powersonic).  To give you a data point, the stock gearing on a Honda Scrambler with at 6.7 inch ADC (direct drive) will reach 55 MPH at 48 volts. See http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/518.html.  You could do your wife's commute with 100 pounds of SLA batteries.  If you don't care about looks, conversion of an ICE bike is fast and easy: 1) remove ICE parts,  2) bolt motor to frame using angle iron, 3) stack batteries on 2x4 and strap to frame, 4) install some relays and switches to control speed, 5) start riding.  I took this quicky approach first, thinking I would get my feet wet, then scrap it all and do it right the 2nd time.  But, it worked so well,  I'm up to 2000 miles and still going.  Mark T.  ----- Original Message ----- From: Mark Hastings To: listserv@electricmotorcycles.net Sent: Friday, April 14, 2006 8:37 AM Subject: [ElectricMotorcycles] Short range high speed MC/scooter? My wife works about 1.4 miles from our house. I'd say it is 1 mile at 30mph and .4 miles at 55mph. She has been walking or riding but there are no safe roads to walk/ride because of how the roads are just wide enough for a car and then drop off into a ditch or fencing. I do have my honda shadow that I am putting together, well trying unsuccessfully to get titled before doing too much work on it anyhow, but it is probably going to be pretty big for her 5'2" ~100lbs frame. Which means the 1984 Yamaha FJ1100 for sale in the evalbum is probably too big also. Anyone know anything commercially available that just didn't fit because the range was so short? Those 35mph scooters just aren't going to cut it.   Thanks, Mark Hastings